COLORADO SPRINGS, Colo. – For the second day in the a row, Air Force countered a six-run inning by South Dakota State with a big inning of its own, posting a seven-run frame in the home half of the fifth inning to defeat the Jackrabbits, 11-7, on Wednesday afternoon at Falcon Field.

The Falcons improved to 4-8 overall, while SDSU dropped to 2-10.

Both of the teams’ offensive outbursts came in the fifth inning. SDSU’s six-run top of the inning was aided by an error, which allowed the first run to score. Freshman catcher Derek Hackman plated the second run of the inning with a base hit to left, tying the game at 3-all. Gus Steiger gave the Jackrabbits a 4-3 lead as he reached on a fielders choice that brought home Phil Velez, and Steiger later scored on a double to left field by Tony Kjolsing.

After a pitching change, Newt Johnson upped the Jackrabbit lead to 7-3 with a double to right-center field that scored both Josh Kutzke and Josh Falk.

Falk had given SDSU a 1-0 lead in the top of the first with a run-scoring single that plated Kutzke, who doubled with two outs.

Air Force grabbed the lead back in the bottom of the fifth, sending 11 men to the plate and scoring seven times. SDSU reliever Bryce Johnson failed to record an out as all five men he faced reached base safely, highlighted by back-to-back doubles by Rob Dau and Nic Ready. Dau’s two-bagger scored three Falcons as he went 4-for-5 on the afternoon to pace Air Force’s 16-hit attack. The go-ahead run crossed on a groundout.

Drew Wiss, who started the inning with a walk, added a two-run single to make the score 10-7 in favor of Air Force.

A solo home run by Daniel Jones in the bottom of the eighth accounted for the final tally for Air Force.

Steiger was 2-for-5 as SDSU finished the game with eight hits.

SDSU starter Brett Mogen exited after four innings in which he allowed three runs on eight hits and struck out two batters.

Shawn Kelley and Jake Gilbert combined to throw four shutout innings in relief for Air Force. Kelley struck out four batters over three innings, while Gilbert fanned one in a scoreless ninth.

NOTES: Air Force leads the all-time series, 11-5. ... SDSU’s six-run fifth inning tied its high for most runs in any inning this season. ... Falk extended his hitting streak to a team-best eight games and also leads the squad with a .333 batting average. ... Steiger recorded his fourth multi-hit game of the season, tying him with Falk for the team lead. ... Kjolsing has reached base safely in 26 consecutive games dating back to last season. ... Newt Johnson moved into a tie with Anthony Schneider for the team lead in runs batted in with nine.

UP NEXT

The Jackrabbits wrap up their Spring Break trip with a four-game weekend series at Northern Colorado.

The series opener is slated for a 2 p.m. Mountain (3 p.m. Central) first pitch Friday at Jackson Field in Greeley, Colo.

AIR FORCE 11, SOUTH DAKOTA STATE 7

SD STATE 100 060 000  –    7   8  1

AIR FORCE 001 270 01x  –  11  16  1

Brett Mogen, Bryce Johnson (5), Quinn Reimers (5), Brett Barnett (7), Austin Suhr (8) and Derek Hackman; Joe Kincart, Luke Chilcutt (5), Shawn Kelley (6), Jake Gilbert (9) and Travis Wilkie. W – Chilcutt (1-0). L – Johnson (0-1). 2B: SDSU, Tony Kjolsing, Josh Kutzke, Newt Johnson; AF, Rob Dau, Nic Ready, Colby Brown, Travis Wilkie. 3B: AF, Colby Brown. HR: AF, Daniel Jones.

Photo from www.gojacks.com.